1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for recording/reproduction and a distribution medium, and more particularly relates to an apparatus and a method for recording/reproduction and a distribution medium for transmitting the content of a program which is being reproduced to a user without damage by thinning silence portion together with image in monitoring audio signals particularly during non-normal speed reproduction.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional recording/reproduction apparatus such as a VTR (video tape recorder), video signals and audio signals are thinned with a certain time interval during non-normal speed reproduction. The operation for, for example, triple-speed reproduction is described with reference to FIG. 17.
FIG. 17 is a diagram for illustrating the relation between heads and recording tracks during triple-speed reproduction performed by a recording/reproduction apparatus having two reproducing heads. In normal reproduction, the head A and the head B reproduce tracks alternately one by one. In the case of triple-speed reproduction, the head A and the head B reproduce every third track. In detail, two tracks out of three tracks are not reproduced (thinned) and thus triple-speed reproduction is performed.
However, the above-mentioned conventional recording/reproduction apparatus thins data by rote regardless of the content of the video data or audio data during non-normal speed reproduction, in this case key words which are necessary for a user to understand the program content are thinned, as the result the user can not understand the program content, such thinning is inconvenient for the user.
Further, a reproduction speed is selected from among only the predetermined set values, and a user can not set the reproduction speed to a desired reproduction speed.
The present invention was accomplished to solve the above-mentioned problem, and the content of a program which is being reproduced is transmitted to a user without damage by thinning silence portion together with image in monitoring audio signals particularly during non-normal speed reproduction.
A recording/reproduction apparatus comprises reproducing means for reproducing the audio data, blocking means for blocking the audio data reproduced by the reproducing means into blocks of predetermined time unit, setting means for setting a threshold value of the silence block to be treated as silence data corresponding to an indicated reproduction speed, removing means for removing silence blocks of the level equal to or lower than the threshold value set by the setting means, and connecting means for connecting the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed by the removing means.
A reproduction method comprises a step for reproducing the audio data, a step for blocking the input audio data into blocks of a predetermined time unit, a step for setting a threshold value of silence blocks to be treated as silence data corresponding to an indicated reproduction speed, a step for removing silence blocks of the level equal to or lower than the set threshold value, and a step for connecting the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed.
A distribution medium for providing a program which is readable by a computer for executing a process comprises a step for blocking the input audio data into blocks of a predetermined time unit, a step for setting a threshold value of silence blocks to be treated as silence data corresponding to an indicated reproduction speed, a step for removing silence blocks of the level equal to or lower than the set threshold value, and a step for connecting the: blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed.
A reproduction apparatus comprises reproducing means for reproducing the audio data, blocking means for blocking the audio data reproduced by the reproducing means into blocks of a predetermined time unit, removing means for removing blocks of the level equal to or lower than a preset threshold value as silence block, connection means for connecting the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed by the removing means, and setting means for setting a reproduction speed corresponding to the quantity of the silence blocks.
A recording/reproduction method comprises a step for reproducing the audio data, a step for blocking the reproduced audio data into blocks of a predetermined time unit, a step for removing blocks of the level equal to or lower than a preset threshold value as silence block, a connection step for connecting the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed, and a setting step for setting a reproduction speed corresponding to the quantity of the silence blocks.
A distribution medium for providing a program which is readable by a computer for executing a process comprises a blocking step for blocking the input audio data into blocks of a predetermined time unit, a removing step for removing blocks of the level equal to or lower than a preset threshold value as silence block, a connection step for connecting the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed in the removing step, and a setting step for setting a reproduction speed corresponding to the quantity of the silence blocks.
According to the recording/reproduction apparatus, the recording/reproduction method, and the distribution medium, the input audio data is blocked into blocks of a predetermined time unit, a threshold value of the silence block to be treated as silence data is set correspondingly to an indicated reproduction speed, the silence blocks having the level equal to or lower than the set threshold value are removed, and the blocks from which the silence blocks have been removed are connected each other.
According to the recording/reproduction apparatus, the recording/reproduction method, and the distribution medium, the input audio data is blocked into blocks of a predetermined time unit, blocks having the level equal to or lower than a preset threshold value is removed as the silence block, the blocks from which silence blocks have been removed are connected each other, and the reproduction speed is set corresponding to the quantity of the silence blocks.